


in this trying time

by labocat



Category: In Other Lands - Sarah Rees Brennan
Genre: M/M, Oviposition, Wing Kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-15 20:49:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13039128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/labocat/pseuds/labocat
Summary: There weren't any books about harpy or half-harpy reproduction facts in the library.  Really, someone should write one.





	in this trying time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kenopsia (indie)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/indie/gifts).



If anyone had asked him beforehand, Elliot would have said it wasn’t his fault no one had ever written a book on harpy procreation.

He would have told them that he had tried, had asked, had all but pleaded. He’d even asked them if they had wanted to go the way of the mermaids and have all of their social constructs down to their most offensive body language misconstrued to be something welcoming. And had gotten nothing but a silent wall in response. Even harpies he’d thought he’d had a good relationship with before had shaken their heads and told him that it was a matter best discussed among mates. And didn’t he have a harpy mate?

And there was the rub. Sex between him and Luke was good, better than good if you asked him outright - which no one had - but he still just wanted to _know_. There was a difference between exploratory sex-ed, complete with a lot of fumbling and banging body parts in a not-fun-way and having someone more experienced at least let you down easy, as it were. Or tell you that yes, that part can go there and in fact, should go this way instead of that.

So really, he shouldn’t be blamed for ignoring all of Luke’s blushes, because really, the boy blushed whenever you brought up the _topic_ of sex, how was he supposed to know there was anything further going on? 

Though, he would admit it was partly his fault for assuming the half part of the half-harpy extended solely to the wings that grew ever stronger from Luke’s back. That that was the extent of the biological differences between them. Because as much as he enjoyed preening Luke’s wings, enjoyed the way Luke shivered when he ran his fingers through the feathers to smooth them down, he shouldn’t have let that sate his curiosity.

In the end, most of the blame lay where it usually did: with Luke and his unfailing sense that everything would work out in his favor. And, if Elliot had to admit, it did.

It’s how he found himself on his back on a cot, pulling Luke back on top of him when he’d tried to pull away. “You’ve been gone for _ages_. I had to rely on Golden’s letters to keep me updated as to whether or not you guys needed me to rescue you all, and you’re just going to _stop_?” Elliot didn’t think so. He tightened his grip on Luke, even as he felt most of the fight leave Luke’s tense shoulders and arms. 

“I wrote you some,” Luke tried to protest, before Elliot’s tongue swiped up any half-assed excuses he was about to make, like that the battles had made him too tired to write, especially if he knew Golden would write a better letter anyway. No matter how true it was, a semi-guilty Luke usually tried to make it up to Elliot when he pushed, and after two months of having Luke gone on the front, Elliot was more than willing to push. 

“I just don’t think tonight’s the best night,” Luke tried, feebly. Elliot restrained himself - quite admirably, if you asked him - from rolling his eyes. 

“Oh, is tomorrow night better, Your Majesty Mister Sunborn, sir?” Elliot didn’t even try to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, but he knew the job had worked somewhat when he managed to roll Luke onto the bed and underneath him. Even if he’d been keeping up with the frankly insane training schedule Luke and Serene had ingrained in him, he wouldn’t fool himself into thinking he’d been able to overpower Luke in any way he didn’t want to be. 

“It’s just tonight might get...weird.”

Which immediately piqued Elliot’s curiosity. “Weird how, exactly?” This was it, it had to be, the thing all the other harpies he’d talked to had managed to avoid so far. And now he had Luke underneath him and he wouldn’t leave without some answers. “Does this have anything to do with why no one will answer my questions about harpy mating?”

“Have you been _asking_ about that?” Luke’s voice raised an octave, which impressed Elliot. “Uh, of course, how else was I supposed to figure out if you needed to mate for your species’ prolonged health or whatever and I was going to have to figure out some schedule or dating service or something?”

“By asking me?” Elliot was seriously considering signing Luke up for the garrison’s singing group if his voice kept going up like that.

“Okay then, mister smarty-pants, why is tonight weird?” Curiosity had fully taken over any ardor Elliot felt, which he hoped Luke appreciated, having only had his hand for company for the past two months.

Luke looked away, which instantly flagged Elliot’s bullshit-o-meter. He grabbed Luke’s chin to turn his face back so they were staring eye-to-eye again. To his credit, Luke only tried to look away once more before sighing. “I don’t know?” At Elliot’s roll of his eyes, he continued, “I really don’t know, all I know is that I usually feel a little funny this time of month, and more...eager...but that’s about it. Oh, and I usually lose a few feathers by morning.”

“And you didn’t ask anyone either?”

Luke fidgeted again. “It felt too private to ask anyone but Mom, and she wouldn’t have known.”

Elliot did his best, he really did, not to sigh audibly. So he only sighed a little. “Fine. So what if you molt a bit, I guess you should be glad you’re not bleeding along with it, although Serene would probably tell you you’re missing out on the battlelust of shedding blood and irrational feelings. I don’t see how it keeps you from being here, right now, between my legs.” He shimmied a little, fully aware that he probably looked ridiculous but also that somehow Luke liked his brand of supposed ridiculousness. 

It seemed to work, by the way Luke’s shoulders dropped another few inches and a smile crossed his face as he reached up to touch Elliot’s face. “Alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“If you want me to sign legal documents, the best drafter is in this bed with you right now, and I can think of much better things I could be doing with my hands,” Elliot retorted, one hand already working its way down Luke’s torso, trying to find an opening in the leather riding gear he hadn’t taken off yet. “Yeesh, it’s like you don’t _want_ to be touched.”

“The point of armor _is_ kind of to keep other things from touching us.” But Luke’s hands were wandering too and Elliot found it to his distinct advantage that as a diplomat, he only had to wear a tunic and hose most days, no fussing with armor or whatnot. So he got to feel Luke’s hands on his skin much faster than he made it through all of the layers of riding gear, now even more delayed as he wriggled a bit under Luke’s hands, arching up against them. 

Luke would have to wait even longer as Elliot felt himself rolled back so that he was against the cot again, looking up at Luke and his wings spread out behind him, absorbing both all of the light and all of Elliot’s attention. Leaving the armor unbuckled and the laces of Luke’s tunic half-tied, Elliot ran his fingers through the lower feathers, preening them and moving higher up Luke’s wings as Luke gave a rumbling sound and closed his eyes. Usually Elliot used grooming to help Luke relax after training or to get to sleep, but he had a feeling they were both so worked up right now that any sensation was good sensation in Elliot’s mind. 

He let himself get lost in the feeling of Luke kissing him, of Luke’s tongue sweeping across his lips and dipping in, the soft feel of Luke’s feathers under his fingers. Then, he remembered it’d been two months since he’d seen his boyfriend. Or rather, his dick reminded him. As did Luke’s. 

There was a groan out of both of them that Elliot swore would have echoed if they hadn’t been in a canvas tent when he tilted his hips up, shifting the slow petting they’d been doing into desperate jerks of both their hips.

“Oh my god, your breeches aren’t even off. My _hose_ aren’t even off.” Elliot was mildly glad that in the worst case scenario, his hose stretched and the tunic was voluminous, whereas the combination of leather breeches and riding spurs meant that Luke’s cock was rather more trapped. And having had first-hand experience with both Luke’s length and the space available in his breeches, Elliot did not envy Luke in that moment.

It was as much to his benefit as Luke’s for him to get Luke’s breeches off, so with some reluctance, he gave Luke’s wings one last stroke and resumed his previous task of getting Luke undressed, since he knew he couldn’t trust Luke to do it himself. 

“El...liot…,” Luke’s voice sounded strangled, and Elliot could see that his knuckles were white where they were clenched in the tunic he’d only managed to get partly up Elliot’s chest. But, the way Luke’s eyes were scrunched closed and the way he kept biting his lip was almost endearing, so Elliot supposed he could let it slide.

“What?” Elliot didn’t want to be distracted - he was almost through all of the absurd buckles that fastened all of Luke’s clothes into place or served as anchors for weapons. Quite useless, if they’d just _listen_ to Elliot’s ideas instead of just marching off thinking they knew better. But that was a thought for a time when he didn’t have Luke crouched over him, shuddering in his arms.

“‘m close.” 

“ _Already_?” The word tripped out of Elliot’s mouth before he could think about it - he had been pretty eager himself to roll around in bed with his boyfriend, but this was taking things to a new level. He couldn’t help a small pang of disappointment that it’d be over so quickly, but he supposed Luke would just have to make it up to him in the morning or whenever he woke up from his post-coital nap. He sighed. “Alright, since you’ve clearly missed me so much…” Barely pausing to unbutton Luke’s pants further, Elliot reached in and wrapped his hand around Luke’s length. There was still something that made his head spin whenever he thought about the fact that he was the only one in this garrison that could bring Luke to this, that Luke had chosen _him_.

So he was only a little put out when Luke thrust once, twice, three times into his hand and collapsed against him. He was more put out by the fact that Luke still had parts of his chest armor on, once he thought about it. Those things were heavy. And had a lot of bits that were uncomfortable pressed up against him. Maybe he could convince Luke to suck him off. Or get off between his thighs while he napped. Those gloriously strong, golden thighs. 

Elliot shook his head and focused on getting the remaining pieces of clothing off of Luke and himself before they curled up on the cot, Elliot still slowly grinding against Luke’s thigh, mentally preparing himself for Luke to start to drift off in the middle of any updates of how the campaign had gone and for him to have to roll off the cot to finish himself off. 

So he was not expecting Luke to kiss him deeply, hands winding in his overlong curls and pressing him down as much as the cot would give. Elliot wriggled, breaking the kiss to gasp for breath and gape at his definitely-not-sleepy boyfriend.

“Uhhhh,” he had had plans to get more words out, but Luke chose that time to grind his hips against Elliot’s leg, and to Elliot’s surprise, he could feel Luke against him, hard and hot and utterly impossible. “It’s been maybe two minutes, what the hell, that’s unfair.” Rachel Sunborn had answered any and all questions Elliot had asked that she had the capability to answer, and between that and his own experiences, Elliot had thought he had a good handle of typical refractory periods, even for teenagers. 

Luke ducked his head a little. “I told you I was...eager.” 

“I don’t know why you’re embarrassed about this, this must be a miracle of modern science or something and if we could make it into a pill we’d make millions.”

“I have no idea what you’re on about, but I think we’re both better off if we do something with my body other than talk about it.” There was only a hint of a flush on his cheeks and Elliot felt proud; Luke only ever lost some of his inhibitions about sex while in the act, but they’d never had a chance to talk about it post-coital. Elliot would have to remember that for next time. 

“Good, you can fuck me, then.” Elliot’s cock, which had flagged slightly as he’d tried to accept he’d have to wait, thickened to match Luke’s interest. He rolled slightly to reach his satchel, in which he’d placed his latest haul from the cadets he’d bribed to go to a chemist’s during their summer reprieve on the other side of the wall. He was sure there were plenty of natural lubricants on this side of the wall, but as long as he had some sort of access to 21st century lube and condoms, he was going to take it. Especially if he had to take Luke’s cock. 

Against his thigh, it wasn’t so bad, but Elliot knew from experience that it would be a stretch, even if he yelled and twisted and begged Luke to fuck him all the harder. And Luke, bless his heart, always did, after about the third time Elliot yelled that he wasn’t going to break and that he’d taken it before and he’d take it again.

Tonight was no different, except that Luke seemed to have fewer inhibitions than normal helping Elliot prepare himself and tugging his knees up. Elliot merely attributed it to the length of time they’d been apart and the loosening of tension one had after an orgasm. Then Luke was pressing into him and for once Elliot stopped trying to figure out reasons to and from a situation and decided to just enjoy the feeling of Luke in and above him, surrounding him with arms and wings and making him feel safe, treasured. He sighed happily, running his hands down Luke’s arms - as much as he knew he had the right of it, there was something deeply arousing about watching Luke’s muscles flex as he held Elliot down. He sank into the warm feeling, letting it simmer in his chest.

That lasted about as long as it took Luke to start moving, then all Elliot could think or feel was the fast pace of Luke driving into him, the pace it usually took him _ages_ to urge Luke into. He likely would have been embarrassed at the high-pitched gasp and the way his arms and legs immediately went to wrap around Luke and draw him closer, but there was no room for embarrassment in Elliot’s mind just then. He was already having a hard enough time trying to find a comfortable angle to wrap his arms around Luke. It was a fundamentally simple thing to do that became exponentially more difficult when one’s boyfriend had large wings growing out of his back. Usually Elliot had more time to get good leverage, to let his hands creep up Luke’s back, brushing his wings at strategic times and locations, but tonight he just threw his arms up and held on, hoping that Luke didn’t mind the way he was undoing all his previous work at preening the large wings..

By the way Luke bent down to catch Elliot’s mouth in a fierce kiss that set what felt like all of Elliot’s nerves to sparking, he didn’t think Luke minded. 

Elliot broke the kiss to yelp as Luke shifted on his knees to hold Elliot’s hips up, aware that the rest of the camp could likely hear them and he would likely have to endure quite a lot of whistles and looks tomorrow, but as each time he made a sound, Luke drove into him just that much harder, they could all just go on being jealous none of them had Luke Sunborn for a boyfriend. 

For now, he tried to kiss Luke again but really only succeeded in panting harshly against Luke’s mouth, small bits of words that had passing resemblance to “come on” and “harder” and “yes, that” riding on his exhales. 

If Elliot had been surprised that Luke had been able to go again so soon after his last orgasm, it was nothing compared to the surprise he felt at what felt like Luke’s cock expanding another half inch in diameter within him.

“Wha-,” he didn’t even get to finish, not with the way it felt like Luke was driving all the breath out of his lungs with every thrust.

Luke just shook his head at Elliot as he clung to Luke all the harder with his legs, sacrificing his hold on Luke’s shoulders and trusting Luke to continue holding him up - which he did, easily and Elliot couldn’t even spare the usual flash of resentment for jock muscles - to get a hand around his own length.

“Keep,” he had to pause for a moan to push its way to the front of the vocal line. “Keep on like that and I’m not gonna last long.”

“Good,” Luke all but growled, holding him closer, and holy _shit_ , Elliot was never letting him know how much that low growl and possessiveness got to him. It would go entirely too much to Luke’s head, and then how would he ever fit through doors and fuck Elliot like this again? So he just held on for the next few thrusts and let the sound echo in his mind as he came, expecting Luke to follow him soon.

From the way Luke kept pounding into him, that didn’t seem likely. Especially not with the way Luke’s cock inside of him felt like it was still expanding, leaving Elliot to feel more and more like a pinned animal. Which he didn’t know where he fell on that matter but could make an assumption based on the way his head kept spinning and his hips kept jerking into it.

Finally, as he felt on the edge of teetering over the cliff of over-sensitivity, Luke buried his face in Elliot’s neck, hips finally coming to a still, the force of the final thrust making Elliot gasp.

But Luke didn’t pull out. Nor did he feel like he was softening at all.

“Dude, we really need to figure this out and find a way to market it. Or I could write a paper. I could write _so_ many papers,” Elliot knew he was babbling, knew it was the rush of endorphins and the fucked-out floaty feeling responsible for the way barely anything out of his mouth made sense, and he was briefly glad it was only Luke here to hear his lapse into idiocy. Luke rarely understood his genius anyway.

Then he felt something that was distinctly _not_ floaty.

“Are you trying to _knot_ me?” Elliot asked incredulously, as he felt the definitely-not-soft cock in his ass nudge a bit harder and slightly-larger swelling at his entrance. 

“I don’t think so!” Luke all but yelped, the note of panic in his voice completely incongruous with the way his hips started circling at Elliot’s entrance again, or the way he was biting his lip in that way he did when Elliot went down on him and he was trying to hold back. 

“What. The. Fuck.”

“I didn’t know! You’re the one that said this was okay and we should go ahead tonight even though I tried to warn you!”

“You said you molted! That is _very_ different than--oof,” Elliot broke off as Luke’s insistent circling of his hips slipped the swelling inside of Elliot, and they both groaned. Humans apparently had nothing on half-harpy’s refractory periods during...whatever this was, Elliot would either come up with a name later or ask around more, but maybe it was something contagious, as Elliot could feel himself starting to harden again. Especially as the swelling passed to press against his prostate.

“It’s _moving_! Knots are not supposed to move!”

“I really don’t think it’s a knot - I mean, I thought that was a canine thing…,” Luke trailed off hopefully, and any other time, Elliot would have jumped in with the helpful right answer because at least Luke had _tried_. But right now he didn’t have any answers of his own. Except…

“You’re a _bird_. Birds don’t knot, but harpies have to have more mammalian reproductive structure to - oh god it’s moving again - no don’t just _pull out_.” Odd sexual experience or not, Elliot actually trusted Luke, and he couldn’t deny the fact that his body was certainly taking interest in the proceedings.

To the point that Elliot finally figured it out because he was grinding up against Luke’s hips and felt the next swelling as it edged towards him. “Oh my god, are you laying _eggs_ in me?” Now that he knew to expect an approximate shape and was prepared for it, he could bear down on the egg as it entered him: he figured it was smaller than a chicken egg, and spherical, for which he was grateful. The gradual thickening of Luke’s cock was also explained.

“How did you not know this would happen?” Elliot was trying his best to sound incredulous even when his speech was more gasps than words, but found it was difficult when the second egg brushed past his prostrate, drawing more groans and wriggles from him. There was a distinctly full feeling that was somehow staying just this side of cramping, and Elliot found the more he bore down on it, letting the eggs work their way up, the more bearable it was and the more of that spine-tingling rush along his nerves raced through his body.

“I didn’t! I swear! I only molted before, though I’m not surprised that it only gets ridiculous when you’re involved.” Compared to the driving thrusts before, Luke wasn’t moving now, but Elliot was doing quite enough for the both of them, writhing best he could while feeling fuller and fuller.

“Oh come _on_ ,” he said, as he felt another shape come forward from Luke’s abdomen, but the shooting glance he tried to give Luke was undermined by the way his head fell back as Luke wrapped a hand around his cock.

“I think this is the last one.”

“Oh, really? And how do you - _oh_ \- know this? Experience?”

“I just _do_ , okay?”

“No, not okay, I am writing all of this down later and publishing it for future generaaaaaa-oh.” The orgasm felt more pushed out of Elliot than anything, but the relief that usually accompanied orgasm was nothing compared to the relief of the feeling of Luke finally, _finally_ softening and sliding out. “Huh. Guess you were right.”

Elliot shifted on the cot, both to make room for Luke as he fell over, looking exhausted, as well as to shift his hips, testing the remaining sensation of fullness the three eggs had left.

“I’m not keeping these, you know.”

Luke cracked one eye open to look at him. “I’m pretty sure you aren’t meant to.”

“Forgive me if I don’t trust _the man who didn’t know he laid eggs_ to know the first thing about them.”

“Have you ever raised chickens?”

Elliot did not see what that had to do with anything. “No, they’re ridiculous and run around everywhere. Why?”

“Usually eggs need to be fertilized. I don’t think you can fertilize or carry them, so I don’t think you need to worry about anything.”

Elliot shoved at his shoulder, even though it did absolutely nothing towards actually budging Luke. Sometimes things had to be done for the show of it. “Alright, then, do you think this happens _every_ month?” His mind was already spinning, thinking of papers, _books_ that could be written. “This could be vital in fostering a better harpy-human-half-harpy relationship or treaty!”

The only response he got from Luke was a face pressed into his shoulder, a soft kiss to the skin there, and a mumbled, “glad to hear you’re already preparing for next month.” that slid off at the end as Luke succumbed to his expected post-coital nap, seemingly all the deeper for the three orgasms.

Elliot sighed, then patted Luke’s head and reached to grab the blanket to pull over them, rubbing his stomach lightly as if he could feel the eggs through it and resigning himself to sleep as well even as he grimaced at the prospect of getting them out later. The things he did for love.


End file.
